Knots
by echidnaenigma
Summary: Lily has been nervous about a lot of things. Running into James on her patrol doesn't help much. Classic Jily fluff.


Lily had to patrol alone most Thursdays. She had signed up for that day at the start of the year because it was either Thursdays alone while Jeremy Corner skivved off to snog Marissa Clearwater or two hours walking the castle with Sev and there was absolutely no way she was spending any time alone with him after last spring. So on Thursdays she went solo which was fine. Her schedule had worked out quite nicely actually, and prefect responsibilities were not so tedious as they had been last year now that she and Remus were together on Mondays. That was something she loved about Hogwarts, she thought. Although there was hardly a dull moment in the castle, there were plenty of unpleasant parts about being a witch that she hadn't anticipated when she got her first letter several years ago, but everything was better with friends. Still, Thursday evening was her alone time and while she liked the solitude, her mind wandered and the knots in her stomach became increasingly tangled.

Tonight she was contemplating the rumblings that were shaking the Hogwarts rumor mill. Voldemort needed recruits and the word was that he no longer had any qualms about age restrictions. Marlene had been telling her just the other day that she'd come across Sev and Avery crowded around Lucius Malfoy who was showing them something on his arm that he'd hastily covered up as she went past. Of course the main focus of the story was how Marlene had caught Eliot McKinnon staring at her for the fifth time that week and she should probably ask him out because someone had to take the initiative or else she was going to jump his bones in Charms and really, Hogsmeade was much more discreet. Lily had nodded along but her mind was stuck on that one detail. Sev had always been fascinated with the Dark Arts, just as Lily was passionate about Potions, but lately they seemed to consume him. Perhaps it was for the best that they were no longer on speaking terms, but as she thought about her former friend and the storm brewing beyond the castle, she felt her stomach tie itself in another knot. Soon there would be too many and all her insides would bunch up and then how would she ever get her food down?

Unconsciously, Lily had begun to bite her nails as she walked, and when a suit of armor came crashing down a few feet behind her, she bit down so hard that she nearly tore off her thumbnail. Whirling around, she saw three boys sprinting down the corridor away from her. They were moving too fast for her to catch them, but she started to run towards them anyway. The sound of her footsteps was drowned out by the suit of armor which was still rattling. She stopped, turned back, and made her way over to what she now saw was a clumsy pile of silver and boy with a familiar mess of black hair sticking out of the top. As she approached, the pile stilled and the hallway grew silent until the boy brightly remarked, "Alright Evans?"

With a sigh, Lily began to untangle James from the suit of armor. Her hands were shaking and the shocks she felt every time she brushed his skin didn't help. She'd noticed these shocks when his hand brushed hers as he passed her plates in the Great Hall or accidentally bumped her elbow with his in Transfiguration and although she usually pulled away as quickly as possible, all she wanted now was to let her fingers linger on his skin a little longer. She was noticing James Potter an awful lot these days and her thoughts only served to add to the stomach sweater that her nerves were knitting. Lily wasn't really much help with the suit of armor but a few minutes later, James successfully stood up from the pile. They stared at each other for a minute and Lily noticed that his shirt was buttoned wrong, as though he had put it on in a hurry. James' hand moved to his hair and then, in a soft voice that sounded too loud in the night, he asked, "Are you going to report me, Lily?"

Startled at the use of her first name, Lily's eyes moved back to his face. He was glowing, with exertion or embarrassment she couldn't say. She looked down the hallway. "I suppose not. Filch must be on the other side of the castle or else he'd be here by now." She glanced down at her watch. "Come on, patrol's over. Let's go to bed." Her face went red as she realized her choice of words and she glanced up at James, expecting him to take advantage of the easy opportunity for innuendo, but he just grinned and fell into step beside her as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. His hand brushed hers every now and then and she tried not to notice. Instead, she cleared her throat and said, "I don't think you'll tell me but I'm going to ask anyway: What were you and your mates up to this evening?"

"I'd love nothing more than to tell you Evans, but it's classified Marauders business, top priority, and I'm sworn to absolute secrecy." James replied.

Lily looked at him and arched an eyebrow. "What about if I guess it? Then will you tell me?"

James laughed and Lily tried to ignore how the knots in her stomach loosened at the sound. "Evans, I have the highest estimation of your intelligence, but I doubt even you can guess this one – _Fortuna major_."

They climbed through the portrait hole and made their way into the common room. A group of fourth year boys was packing up in a corner but the space was otherwise empty. Lily turned to James again and found that his face was still glowing, although now she couldn't tell why. All she knew was that looking at him unwound her stomach just enough for her to say, "That's okay. It's very noble of you to keep a friend's secret"

James' hand shot to his hair and now she was pretty sure she knew why he was blushing. "Well, I'm sure you'd do the same," he responded. "I mean, it's just... when someone had a problem, they shouldn't have to deal with it alone, you know? Everything's better with friends."

Lily was sure that her eyes were going to fall out of her head. That had to be the most sense she'd ever heard James make in the six years she'd known him. "Absolutely," she said. She tried to gather herself but she knew she couldn't respond as eloquently as she'd like so instead she cocked her eyebrow and said, "You're absolutely right. Even though helping a friend can lead to some... hairy situations."

James gaped at her and Lily watched his eyes widen. She felt herself going red; had he caught her meaning? Was he upset? She was about to put her thumbnail back in her mouth when James began to laugh. Lily looked up to see him doubled over, holding on to a chair for support. She just stared at him and waited for him to regain control of himself, but he never quite returned to his serious state. Instead, still chuckling warmly, James swept her into his arms and held her there and Lily could swear that, for a moment, her stomach felt just fine.


End file.
